Welcome

Welcome to the POZ/AIDSmeds Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and
others concerned about HIV/AIDS. Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the
conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning: Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive
and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a
username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own
physician.

All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators
of these forums. Click here for “Am I Infected?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ/AIDSmeds community forums.

We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please
provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are
true and correct to their knowledge.

Her finely-touched spirit had still its fine issues, though they were not widely visible. Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.

Raising my protein shake as you drink your geritol -- not that you need it. Though I do need my shake -- I'm a scrawny lad (5'8", 140ish) trying to gain a little more muscle mass.

Logged

Her finely-touched spirit had still its fine issues, though they were not widely visible. Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.

Final question to Ford and others: where does ab training fit in to your routines?

Logged

Her finely-touched spirit had still its fine issues, though they were not widely visible. Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.

I do abs on my workout days except legs day-- I'm just too exhausted after working legs. I mix it with the abs making sure I'm getting the entire ab area. Some days I'll do hanging leg raises, some days the abs machines, some days the Swiss ball and some just old fashioned crunches.

Okay, so I ordered a regulation posing suit for this bodybuilding competition... total banana hammock! I knew this thing would be small but this is like Victoria's Secret. No wonder bodybuilders shave, you can't have pubes and wear this thing. It is hands down the gayest thing I have ever put on, and that's saying a lot! The thought of being on a stage in this thing is giving me palpitations.

Okay, so I ordered a regulation posing suit for this bodybuilding competition... total banana hammock! I knew this thing would be small but this is like Victoria's Secret. No wonder bodybuilders shave, you can't have pubes and wear this thing. It is hands down the gayest thing I have ever put on, and that's saying a lot! The thought of being on a stage in this thing is giving me palpitations.

Ahem. Pics please. Here and on the porn thread. Speaking of bananas, you might want post there soon, so as to get the coveted 9 inch spot.

Logged

Her finely-touched spirit had still its fine issues, though they were not widely visible. Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.

You don't want to see a pic. Let's just say the banana hammock has a different effect when it is on a smooth, tan, ripped 21-year-old than a hairy, pasty, soft 41-year-old.

You're not getting off so easy. Hairy (which is HOT anyway) and pasty? Everyone please look at the pic posted in reply #17 and back me up on this. PASTY?! So Not.

Logged

Her finely-touched spirit had still its fine issues, though they were not widely visible. Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.

This was an interesting reading. I read the whole thing. Ford, I'm just worried about two things here, #1 I would not dare eat anything "raw" like egg yolks, sushi or whatever if it's not cooked. Not good for us hiv + guys, and #2 Beware about that "lie detector" test in case a compromising question related to your lack of fat comes up. Keep your eyes and ears wide open and GO FOR IT!

Logged

Catman

Meow to the birdsMeow to the tree'sMeow to the endof this dreadful disease...

Those posing trucks were the final straw for me. There was simply no way I was getting up in front of an auditorium filled with people wearing that thing. Still I wonder what competing would be like.

My intercostals finally healed up and I've hit the weighs with a vengeance. Right now I've lowered the amount of exercises I do per body part and the amount of sets while slowly upping my poundages. Seeing decent results so far.

This was an interesting reading. I read the whole thing. Ford, I'm just worried about two things here, #1 I would not dare eat anything "raw" like egg yolks, sushi or whatever if it's not cooked. Not good for us hiv + guys, and #2 Beware about that "lie detector" test in case a compromising question related to your lack of fat comes up. Keep your eyes and ears wide open and GO FOR IT!

I don't eat raw eggs, meat, sushi, etc. I've been eating egg whites, lots of them, but they are cooked.

As far as lipo and lie detectors, I don't think it will come up. Even if it did I'm not taking any of the banned substances. The lipo is a result of my HIV infection combined with my metabolism and medication. If my lipo gives me an edge, which I don't think it does, my poor nutrient absorption negates it. With the amount of food I'm consuming each day I should have put on a lot more weight.

Speaking of lipo, I'm not sure whether I mentioned it on here but my lipoatrophy seems to be improving somewhat. I'm not sure whether it's the med change last year, the diet or what but my arms and legs, while still veiny, are not like they were a year ago. My partner and I had about the same level of lipo in our legs and now mine look much less veiny in comparison. It's interesting because even though we started with the same virus and have been on similar meds I have lipoatrophy everywhere and he has buffalo hump, back and belly fat. My metabolism has always been on the skinny side and he has always been on the husky side.

aren't you going to have to shave the whole body for the competition? And oil it up? Perhaps you can do a practice run, then post that pic~ If you're shy, you can just PM it to me and I'll give you my honest critique

aren't you going to have to shave the whole body for the competition? And oil it up? Perhaps you can do a practice run, then post that pic~ If you're shy, you can just PM it to me and I'll give you my honest critique

Paul (who just can't help himself after that beach pic, sorry)

Okay, here's the deal: because you all are helping me through this process I'll show you the "before" pic I took a couple of weeks ago. When I complete this competition I'll post the "after" all shaved, tanned and oiled in the banana hammock. Until then I'm not going to post any pics of myself. As you can see I just set the camera on the desk, hit the timer and tried my best to pose.

OMG, I wish you could be my personal trainer, I would kill for a bod like that (apparently I can't workout hard enough, but am willing to kill??). I cannot wait for the next pic, when is the comp-June? Jeez, that's along way off...........

I think I'm going to print out this thread, or a few pics from it, to help keep me motivated in the ol' gym routine. I've missed the last few sessions, sigh -- laziness coupled with too much weekend socializing. Reading/viewing this thread just makes me want to run to the gym and grab those dumbbells..

Thanks Ford.

Logged

Her finely-touched spirit had still its fine issues, though they were not widely visible. Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.

That vacation picture--very nice. I just started working out with a very hot personal trainer and I finally coaxed him into giving me a shirtless picture that I keep for motivation on those days I don't want to leave--remind me of how well worth it is is to...uh workout.

Ford, you are in great shape and I am proud of you. I'm very sure you are going to get that body shape you want for the competition. It will not be that difficult from where you already are to the form your trainer wants. The diet change will make the difference. I'm with Paul in his support. ADELANTE! And do post that pic of the body all oiled up from the competition!

Logged

Catman

Meow to the birdsMeow to the tree'sMeow to the endof this dreadful disease...

I got another assessment from Damian, the guy who judges natural bodybuilding competitions, to advise me on my progress. Overall the experience was encouraging. The gym was very crowded and we had to do this is in a back hallway. I was just in shorts trying to pose and flex, which I recently started practicing. People gathered around to watch and I started to have that panic feeling. I quickly realized I had better get used to it for the competition and pretended the bystanders were not there. I just focused on flexing, which worked surprisingly well. It was still very embarrassing to have all my physical flaws and posing ineptitude announced publicly.

Damian had me do the mandatory poses and then pointed out what I was doing wrong and my strengths and weaknesses. He emphasized that bodybuilding is about creating the illusion of size, symmetry and definition. He said my chest, shoulders, back and arms look very good although I'm somewhat hollow chested and need to pull my shoulders back farther to compensate. My torso is long and he said I need to hold my hands higher when doing side poses to look thicker up top. My legs have improved (yea!) and look good from the front but my hamstrings are still somewhat flat and look relatively weak compared to my upper body when doing back poses. He said my biggest weakness at this point is my abdominals. He feels my body fat is low enough that my abs should be more distinct. He recommended doing heavily weighted abdominal exercises every other day to make them stand out. I know my waist will become more lean now that I am doing cardio again. He said "I look at you upper body and think 'great' I look at your lower body and think 'pretty good' then I look in the middle and think 'there's not much going on'". I so wanted to say "well let me take these shorts off and see if I can't change your mind!"

He said I was very strong for a novice and should consider entering the open competition. In spite of his positive comments I still doubt my ability to compete. I look at other guys in the gym and they are much bigger then I am. I just keep telling myself "do the best with what you've got."

Has anyone else here participated in bodybuilding? I would really like to hear from anyone who is HIV+ and has done this.

i've never had the balls to do the competition so please do it for yourself. your legs are in great shape which puts you years ahead of most novices who knows you may talk me into it. oh and slap the guy who told you, you were hollow chested, the top center of your pecs are coming along great.

GO FOR IT, FORD! I'M WITH YOU!Forget about feeling insecure and dive into the competition no matter what turns up. Who knows, you might get somewhere you didn't expect to. I also get stage fright when I'm in front of more than 20 persons, but hey, after my PMMA facial treatment I now have to stand "in front" of 50 persons tomorrow and give a brief discussion about some work related things. I'm shitting bricks now, but I AM GOING TO DO IT no matter if I stutter which does happen when I get nervous. I'll just take a deep breath, smile and enjoy the atention! My motto now is, "Damn I look good!"

Lol. And by the way, I'm pretty sure there "IS" something going on in the "middle" of your body!

« Last Edit: April 09, 2007, 08:01:00 PM by Catman »

Logged

Catman

Meow to the birdsMeow to the tree'sMeow to the endof this dreadful disease...

ive somewhat hit a rut in the gym and cant get any more weight on the bench press or chest exercises....dont know what to do to change that (other than try to eat more i guess and maybe ill get stronger)....

but according to the "fat mearuring scale" it says im 15-17% bodyfat so i guess i need to do some more cardio also lol (although i swear the scale lies).....

What exercises do you do for chest.tricep (i think that was your combo) day?

Hey Ford: I did get through the anouncements I made today at work. I got a little nervous, I did stutter just a little, and my mouth did go dry a lot (that was the worst, and I could have drank a gallon of Gatorade) but in spite of it all I made it through pretty good and got good vibes by the people. So now you do the same and just repeat-"Damn my body is HOT!" And show them what you've got stud!...and also show us fans here on this forum!

PS(Thanks for sharing this "training" experience with us. Keep us updated, please.)

Logged

Catman

Meow to the birdsMeow to the tree'sMeow to the endof this dreadful disease...

Oh I have the veiny thing going on. It doesn't show well in that picture but depending on how dehydrated I am my legs look like a road map. I do think the lipo has slightly improved in my arms and legs since I switched meds 1 1/2 years ago.

I think I'll take your advice, with an AbFab twist, and repeat "I am THIN and GORGEOUS!" :

Ha,ha! That's the spirit, dude!

And by the way, I also have those "road maps" especially on the inside of my thighs . I don't even wear bathing suits unless they reach my knees. I do like the veins on my arms, though. I'm a nurse's delight when it's time to draw blood. She can find my main vein even with a blindfold on.

« Last Edit: April 12, 2007, 06:27:40 PM by Catman »

Logged

Catman

Meow to the birdsMeow to the tree'sMeow to the endof this dreadful disease...

... It is hands down the gayest thing I have ever put on, and that's saying a lot! The thought of being on a stage in this thing is giving me palpitations.

Funny, that thought is giving me palpitations too

Congrats on the training, progress and the guts to compete. In my previous life I had a trainer and he pushed me to work out much harder than I ever did on my own. I wish I could afford it now. I've let myself go and haven't been to the gym since just after diagnosis. I know it would be good, but my energy level has been low lately.